2012 U.S. Presidential Campaign:
Herman Cain

Learn More about Republican Challenger Herman CainAICE does not rate or endorse any candidate for political office. This page is for informational purposes only.

Committment
to Israel

At the first New Hampshire Republican presidential
debate at St. Anselm College in Manchester, N.H., Monday, June 13, 2011
Cain told Republican officials that if he were president, “the
world would know that anyone who ‘messes with Israel messes with
the United States,’” he said.

US-Israel
Relationship

“If we clarify who our friends are, clarify who
our enemies are, and stop giving money to our enemies, then we ought
to continue to give money to our friends, like Israel.”
- Republican
Presidential Debate in Nevada, October 18, 2011

Iranian
Threat

QUESTION: Is Israel attacked Iran to prevent Tehran
from getting nuclear weapons, would you help Israel launch the attack
or support it otherwise?

CAIN: "I would first make sure that they had a
credible plan for success, clarity of mission and clarity of success.

"Remember, when you talk about attacking Iran, it is a very mountainous
region. The latest reports say that there may be 40 different locations,
and I would want to make sure that we had a good idea from intelligence
sources where these are located.

"And if Israel had a credible plan that it appeared as if they
could succeed, I would support Israel, yes. And in some instances, depending
upon how strong the plan is, we would join with Israel for that, if
it was clear what the mission was and it was clear what the definition
of victory was."
- Republican
Presidential Debate in Washington, D.C., November 22, 2011

"The first thing that I would do is to assist
the opposition movement in Iran ... Our enemies are not the people of
Iran, it's the regime ... Secondly, we need to put economic pressure
on Iran, by way of our own energy independence strategy ... Iran uses
oil not only as a means of currency, but they use it as a weapon. One
of the reasons that they are able to afford that nuclear weapons program,
is because of oil ... The only we can stop them [from acquiring nuclear
weapons] is through economic means."
- Republican
Presidential Debate in South Carolina, November 13, 2011

Later in the summer of 2011, Cain stressed that he
would not allow Iran to attack Israel and went further in saying that
he would not hesitate to attack Iran if it attacked Israel first.
- The
Washington Times, June 17, 2011.

The
Palestinians' Unilateral Declaration of Independence

QUESTION: Mr. Cain, this week, the Palestinian Authority brought their
bid for statehood to the United Nations. How would you respond to the
unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state?

"It starts with an extension of the Reagan philosophy of peace
through strength. My philosophy would extend that to peace through strength
and clarity. This administration has not made it clear how it stands
with Israel. When I was in Israel last month, I met with the deputy
prime minister. And he made it shockingly, chillingly clear that, given
everything that's going on, number one, Israel will defend itself, with
all of the tensions going on in the Middle East. And he also made it
real clear that he wasn't sure how this administration stood when it
came to Israel. I made it clear, which -- and I would also make it clear
to all of -- our -- the other people in the world, that if you mess
with Israel, you're messing with the United States of America. We will
stand solidly behind Israel."